It was in December, 2013, that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) introduced its student oriented program and provided it to as many as 35,000 institutions across the world through accessibility via Office 365. To be able to use this program to reinforce or help with the curriculum, institutions were required to install either of the two Office programs namely 365 ProPlus or Professional Plus as part of their existing systems. Students who wanted to use the same could do so in lieu of a $12 monthly fee as long as their school/college had enrolled into the program.
Of course this entailed a lot of paperwork on part of the interested institution in terms of enrolling for the program, setting up an account and undergoing the initiation process but it also translated into students enjoying a hassle-free access to everything that the software has to offer. However, another direct implication was that in case your educational institution was not listed then you would not be eligible for using the software.
As of 22nd September, 2014, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) devised a way to skirt this problem too through release of a self-serve program wherein henceforth students desirous of using Office 365 need not route their request via the institutions IT department. All they would require is to be older than 13 years of age and possess a ‘.edu’ email id in order to be able to use the latest features in all Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) programs like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and so on.
Presently this provision has been made available only to American students, many of whom faced glitches on the first day in attempting to activate their Office 365 accounts. In response, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has issued the following statement –
Thanks to everyone who has signed up and installed Office 365 Education for Students. We are excited to see the response and we are monitoring feedback to make sure students have a great experience. It you are not able to activate your Office 365 installation, please try activating again in 10 minutes using the same email address and password. If you are still experiencing an activation issue, please post your question at http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/172.aspx
On making it global, the company has said that the later months of 2014 would be witness to expansion on an international scale.
This article has been written by Vinita Basu.
Related Articles: “Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)’s Xbox One Console Eludes Chinese Market”
“Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) All Set to Launch Windows 9 on September 30″
“Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stands to Gain With Minecraft on Board”
Read: Warren Buffett and Billionaires Are Crazy About These 7 Stocks
